33 Weeks: The Epidural Decision

33 weeks today! I cannot believe that our due date is only 49 days away. Time just keeps passing, Caroline just keeps growing, and boy oh boy does it ever just keep getting hotter and hotter outside! Being pregnant {very pregnant} in the summer is quite the experience. I feel like I should carry around one of the squirt bottles that has a fan attached to it so that I can mist myself regularly. I hate to complain because I know it all will be so worth it in the end, but DANG! On a serious note, the heat is a small price to pay when I get to feel this precious little life moving like crazy inside of me. She is quite the active little booger. As a matter of fact, I'm convinced she rarely sleeps.... wonder if she is going to continue that lifestyle outside the womb? If so, I guess we better prepare ourselves huh? Bennett and I have so much fun not only feeling her move, but laying down and literally watching her move inside my belly! Again I'll say that I'm absolutely fascinated by the miracle that is growing inside of me and the miracle of life in general.

{Love that baby girl so much already!}

So, Bennett and I had quite the day this past Saturday. We spent 8 hours in childbirthing class! Participating in anything that has to do with Caroline makes me happy happy happy so needless to say, I was absolutely ecstatic to attend. Plus the fact that I {obviously since this is my first child} have absolutely NO clue what to expect besides what I've read on the Internet {yikes}, so I was also just really looking forward to the learning aspect of it as well. And let me tell ya, we learned. The only person in the class who I think did not learn is the one lady who asked more than once if she could get up and move around, use the birthing ball, etc once she received an epidural. Ummmm..... Seriously? Even the instructor seemed to finally get annoyed with the question. How many times does she have to tell you that it numbs you from the waist down?! Poor lady. Speaking of epidural.... the Lamaze class sealed my decision {I'm pretty sure at least} to go at this whole labor process without the epidural. I'm convinced I can do it and convinced that both me and Caroline will be better off for it. Now, maybe I'll change my mind when I'm having hellish contractions.... but I hope not. I'm sticking to my decision! Some may think I'm nuts. I actually keep thinking of what one of our good friends Blake told me- "Lauren, it's not like anyone gives you a gold medal for having the baby without an epidural. I'd think someone was nuts if they came into my dental practice and told me they wanted me to pull their tooth without numbing them first". hahaha while I thought he made a VERY valid point.... I don't think I'm persuaded. So, no epidural it is. Even Bennett is on board with that decision! Which I should add, when Sujata {our precious instructor} walked everyone through a ten minute breathing, relaxation exercise with the lights off and nice music playing in the background..... I all of a sudden heard some snoring coming from my left about 9 minutes in.... Yep, Bennett was so relaxed and into his breathing that he fell right asleep. Perhaps I should take some tips from him :)

{He also really enjoyed the birthing ball}